Day of the Dead

Day of the DeadHistory

Is aMexicanholiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions.

The Day of the dead is celebrated on November 2nd. November 1 is el Dia de los inocentes or the day of the children and All Saints Day.November second is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead.

In 2008 the tradition was inscribed in theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of HumanitybyUNESCOThe holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have diedThe origins of the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico predated the arrival of the Spaniards. No record of celebrations in ethnicity mexica,maya,purepechaandtotonaca.

The festival that developed into the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of theAztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modernLa Calavera Catrina.

Rituals celebrating the deaths ofancestorshad been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,5003,000 years.

The rituals that celebrate the life of the ancestors are made in these civilizations from pre-Columbian times . Among the prehistoric peoples was common practice to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

Traditions and customs

On this special day you receive the souls of the dead with offerings in the Altar of Dead.

The Altar of Dead what made the bereaved in their homes or cemeteries over the grave, in this case, people watch at night in the grave hoping the spirit of their dead down and enjoy your offering.

There are many ways to make the Altar of Dead, the easiest is on a table covered with a tablecloth, a photograph of the deceased and is decorated with flowers, some souvenirs and food.

Offerings like welcomeLighting the way back home

An important part of this tradition involves visiting cemeteries. Whether day or night , families come and place candles on the graves as a way to light the way back home of souls. One reason for dress

For this holiday tradition dress like Catrina ( an elegant lady who walks with his hat full of flowers and celebrates death rather than weep) , crybaby , skeletons and skulls. The Mexican humor

One way is by the famous literary skulls. Tradition consisting of rhyming verses so ironic mocking manner of situations and popular or unpopular characters using the theme of death with a humorous intent .Facts about the Day of the DeadThe color of death, in prehispanic Mexico , it was yellow. Therefore, marigold flower is traditionally used in the offering of the Day of the Dead .In some regions of Michoacn , children are responsible for ensuring the pantheons in the first day of November

Festivals Mexico CityThe whole country has its particular tone when celebrating the holidays and the City of Mexico is no exception, from small dead altars in homes where the deceased family is offering with the dishes and drinks that most enjoyed in life, even staging themed related to these dates (El Don Juan Tenorio is the most popular) through popular festivals in different squares and offerings of deaths in schools, universities and cultural institutions for their perfect realization and care the details become real art installations.

Here are places you can not miss if you visit Mexico City these days.

Dead Offering Monumental The Ciudad UniversitariaWith several years of tradition, organizes this offering UNAM students in its various faculties and schools incorporated various offerings mounted around a literary work or particular subject in the central campus of University City. Cartonera large dolls, flowers and phrases begin to enlist the last week of October to make way for the big party day 1 and Nov. 2 taking advantage of the nice weather where that season a large number of shows are performed outdoors, recitals poetry, folk and pop music in a family atmosphere with a touch of freshness of the capital's youth in a context where modern architecture is dressed in lights, candles and the oldest traditions.

Verbena Day of the Dead in CoyoacanEvery year increase people attending the center of Coyoacan to celebrate the Day of the Dead in a fusion of American Halloween with Mexican traditions. Thus, in Coyoacn the afternoon of November 2 whole families attend disguised as different characters among which the most popular is the famous "Catrina" created by Jose Guadalupe Posada in 1910 and immortalized by the painter Diego Rivera in his mural " Dream of a Sunday stroll along the Alameda. " This character, a skeleton dressed in female attire gala, represented in his time to the declining Porfirian oligarchy and has become over time a point of reference in Mexican popular culture.

Located at the southern tip of Mexico City

where Mexico City becomes field Mixquic is one of the populations most entrenched has this festival throughout the country. During the night of November 1 long motorcade heading from various parts of the city to this point, where upon arrival is amazing the number of people who celebrate it; at the doors of houses and small business, family gifts we receive as if it were orange mats and lit candles while street children rather go in search of candy. Fair sweets, food stalls and dances also take place in this celebration.Also this time may be the ideal time to visit some of the historic cemeteries of the City of Mexico with the artistic wealth of interesting characters mausoleums and time. The most prominent historic cemeteries are:

Pantheon of San FernandoFrench Pantheon of the MercyCivil Pantheon of Dolores

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